Triumphant Tigers greeted by roars of celebration at GSP

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport was a sea of orange and purple Tuesday afternoon as hundreds of jubilant fans waited for the Clemson Tigers to arrive from Tampa.

On Monday night, Clemson faced the University of Alabama in a rematch for the College Football Playoff National Championship, beating the Crimson Tide for the first time since 1905 and claiming the school’s second title in 35 years.

Fans from all over the Upstate and beyond flocked to the parking lot of the cargo building on GSP Drive hoping to see players and coaches as they got off the plane and onto team buses.

Fans were dressed head to toe in Clemson colors — a few even donning new national championship T-shirts, and some holding signs and balloons.

Sara Fox of Greenville said everyone in her house stayed awake to see the end of Monday night’s shootout. Her friend Abbey Poff of Greenville said waking up Tuesday morning and realizing Clemson really had won was surreal.

“The last year they won a national championship was the year I was born,” Fox said. “This is a really big deal. It’s really fun to experience with our kids. It was fun to tell them this morning.”

This win is special for Poff because of the timing. She also was born in 1981, when Clemson won its last title, and she had a child born this year just before Clemson’s big win.

“It’s neat to think the year that I was born, they won, and the year my child was born was their second one,” Poff said.

Hudson Childers of Inman said watching the Tigers win was unbelievable.

“It’s the first time in 35 years. I just couldn’t believe it actually happened,” Childers said. “We were all sitting in the living room watching the game and when the final play happened with one second on the clock, it was indescribable.”

Childers said the victory finally sunk in about 2 a.m. He said the pass downfield to Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett that set up Hunter Renfrow’s 2-yard touchdown were two of the most memorable plays of the night.

This championship is special, Childers said, because it’s the only one in his era. He’s seen a lot of good Clemson teams that had the talent to win but didn’t make it that far. He said he thinks Monday night’s win had everything to do with Clemson’s loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers earlier in the season.

“Losing that game is probably the best thing that’s happened to us this year,” Childers said. “Last year we were unbeaten and felt like we had something to prove. This year, we’ve been there and a lot of players are more experienced this year.”

Stacey Redmond, her son Chantz and mother Rachel Patterson traveled from Belmont, N.C., to see the Tigers return home. Redmond said Chantz and his father didn’t watch the game Monday night because they get “too keyed up.”

She said they watched some of the celebration on Facebook Monday night while getting text updates from Patterson.

“I watched it until 11:30 p.m., and I couldn’t take it anymore,” Patterson said. “It was such an intense game.”

Chantz didn’t find out until Tuesday morning his team had walked away with the win. Redmond said she and Chantz snuck into the bathroom and quietly checked the score before he went to bed.

At that point, Alabama was ahead by 10. Chantz said that's when he got nervous.

“I was scared,” Chantz said.

Steve Foster of Duncan brought his young daughters, Jaida and Joi, to the airport to welcome the Tigers home.

It was amazing to watch them win, Foster said. After Alabama scored its last touchdown, Foster said they left too much time on the clock, which set up Clemson for its last drive to pull ahead.

“I think it was really great,” Foster said. “Last year we were undefeated and (Alabama) lost one game. This year we lost one game and they were undefeated. It was like a reverse role, and I think it was destined for Clemson to come away with the victory. It’s been a long time coming.”

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